What is MLA Style?
Modern Language Association (MLA) style is one of several styles for academic writing. It is used primarily in the arts (English, history, philosophy, classical studies) and middle school and high school sciences (APA style is usually used for science in university or higher). The MLA guidelines call for the bibliography to be called Works Cited (APA style uses Reference List). MLA Style provides rules for formatting...
your essay as a whole: margins, indenting, etc.
references included in the body of your essay
the list of works cited at the end of your essay
What kinds of sources do I document?
direct quotations from a book, article, film, letter, email, lecture, etc.
single words, short phrases, sentences and longer passages quoted from books, articles etc.
ideas you draw from a source but present entirely in your own words
paraphrases and summaries of books, journal articles, pamphlets
single words, short phrases, sentences and longer passages quoted from books or articles used
statistics
WRITING A BIBLIOGRAPHY IN MLA STYLE
Begin typing your list of cited sources flush to the left margin. Indent 5 spaces (or half an inch) for second and subsequent lines of citation.
Some citations are short and may fit all on one line. Nothing is wrong with that.
Do not type author on one line, title on a second line, and publication information on a third line. Type all citation information continuously until you reach the end of the line. Indent the second line and continue with the citation. If the citation is very long, indent the third and subsequent lines.
How do I introduce cited sources?
In order to make your paper coherent and accurate, use the following tags and conventions to introduce other sources into your work:
Boyd argues, describes, explains, claims, asserts, refers to, cites
Where do I find bibliographic information?
The bibliographic information for different types of resources are located in different places, so you may need to do some detective work to get all of the information for your bibliography. Try looking in these places:
the title page of a book, encyclopedia or dictionary
the heading of an article
the front, second, or editorial page of the newspaper
the contents page of a journal or magazine
the header (at the top) or footer (at the bottom) of a Web site
the About or the Contact page of a Web site
Sample Formats:
Works Cited
"Battery." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1990.
"Best Batteries." Consumer Reports Magazine 32 Dec. 1994: 71-72.
Booth, Steven A. "High-Drain Alkaline AA-Batteries." Popular Electronics 62 Jan. 1999: 58.
Brain, Marshall. "How Batteries Work." howstuffworks. 1 Aug. 2006 <http://home.howstuffworks.com/battery.htm>.
"Cells and Batteries." The DK Science Encyclopedia. 1993.
Dell, R. M., and D. A. J. Rand. Understanding Batteries. Cambridge, UK: The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001.
"Learning Center." Energizer. Eveready Battery Company, Inc. 1 Aug. 2006 < http://www.energizer.com/learning/default.asp>.
"Learning Centre." Duracell. The Gillette Company. 31 July 2006
< http://www.duracell.com/au/main/pages/learning-centre-what-is-a-battery.asp>.
MLA Citation Guides:
MLA Style: Getting Started
Produced by the University of British Columbia. Gives examples and tips to using MLA citation formats.
Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format
Produced by the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University. Provides guidance on: Paper Format, Your Works Cited List, Handling Quotations In Your Text, A Note on Notes.
Modern Language Association (MLA) style is one of several styles for academic writing. It is used primarily in the arts (English, history, philosophy, classical studies) and middle school and high school sciences (APA style is usually used for science in university or higher). The MLA guidelines call for the bibliography to be called Works Cited (APA style uses Reference List). MLA Style provides rules for formatting...
What kinds of sources do I document?
WRITING A BIBLIOGRAPHY IN MLA STYLE
How do I introduce cited sources?
In order to make your paper coherent and accurate, use the following tags and conventions to introduce other sources into your work:
Where do I find bibliographic information?
The bibliographic information for different types of resources are located in different places, so you may need to do some detective work to get all of the information for your bibliography. Try looking in these places:
Sample Formats:
Works Cited
"Battery." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1990.
"Best Batteries." Consumer Reports Magazine 32 Dec. 1994: 71-72.
Booth, Steven A. "High-Drain Alkaline AA-Batteries." Popular Electronics 62 Jan. 1999: 58.
Brain, Marshall. "How Batteries Work." howstuffworks. 1 Aug. 2006 <http://home.howstuffworks.com/battery.htm>.
"Cells and Batteries." The DK Science Encyclopedia. 1993.
Dell, R. M., and D. A. J. Rand. Understanding Batteries. Cambridge, UK: The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001.
"Learning Center." Energizer. Eveready Battery Company, Inc. 1 Aug. 2006 < http://www.energizer.com/learning/default.asp>.
"Learning Centre." Duracell. The Gillette Company. 31 July 2006
< http://www.duracell.com/au/main/pages/learning-centre-what-is-a-battery.asp>.
MLA Citation Guides:
Produced by the University of British Columbia. Gives examples and tips to using MLA citation formats.
Produced by the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University. Provides guidance on: Paper Format, Your Works Cited List, Handling Quotations In Your Text, A Note on Notes.
Online tools for making your bibliography: